Milder weather and increased trade spell trouble for crops and trees
Mix together intensified global trade and a milder climate and what is the result? An environment where plant pests and diseases can easily grow and spread.
While it may be impossible to completely halt this phenomenon, national plant health services can take action to minimize negative consequences. This is why FAO has convened an expert consultation in Budapest this week. Specialists from 17 countries in Europe and Central Asia – representing government, the private sector and academia – will look at cross-border cooperation and improving preparedness levels.
The three-day event is aimed at drawing attention to new plant health risks, and conveying know-how on the latest approaches to managing pest outbreaks. According to FAO, resources being allocated for plant health worldwide have been in decline for decades – while risk of pests and diseases is on the rise, and national efforts to combat them are more urgently needed.
“This consultation will involve the best experts in the region,” said FAO agricultural officer Avetik Nersisyan, “including experts from National Plant Protection Organizations, plant protection departments and divisions in the private sector and academia. It will provide a forum to raise national, regional and global awareness about plant health issues.”
The introduction of invasive species into new ecosystems can have devastating sociocultural, economic or environmental effects, including reduced food security.
“The productivity of crops grown for human consumption is increasingly at risk, due to the rising incidence of pests, emerging weeds, and pathogens,” said FAO plant production and protection expert Arthur Shamilov. “According to some estimates, potential losses caused by pests can be as high as 50 percent globally.”
This week’s expert consultation provides an opportunity for cross-country and cross-sectoral networks to grow, a prerequisite for effective action against any plant pest or disease.
“We are here for a more coordinated planning, to ensure that plant health experts, the private sector and farmers are all involved,” Shamilov added.
The consultation will address concerns related to common and emerging pest species, especially those of invasive nature, which spread across the region. Also it is meant to support the development and coordination of international plant health policies under the International Plant Protection Convention. Invited experts representing plant protection and phytosanitary sectors of European and Central Asian countries will provide an overview of national situations and identify the main issues to be considered.
Strengthened national phytosanitary control
Four Eastern European countries (Armenia, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine) have already established collaboration with FAO on phytosanitary control issues in the form of a two-year project. They have been working to improve the effectiveness of national plant protection organizations and infrastructure, and to increase the benefits to be had from safe trade.
That programme will come to a conclusion during the Budapest consultation, with each country presenting its approach and the results achieved.
12 December 2017, Budapest, Hungary